iMore - Sirihttp://www.imore.com/siri
Siri is a virtual assistant with a voice-controlled natural language interface that uses sequential inference and contextual awareness to help perform personal tasks for iOS users. Spun out of the DARPA-funded CALO project, Siri was initially developed by Dag Kittlaus and his team of SRI International as an iPhone app. Apple bought Siri in 2010. In October of 2011 Apple re-released it as part of iOS 5. Siri is currently run by Bill Stasior, vice president, Siri, and the technology is integrated into the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and into Apple's new HomeKit home automation framework.
Siri was re-introduced with a new interface as part of iOS 5. Although it no longer enjoyed the same level of partner integration it had as an independent app, Apple's Siri better integration with built-in services like iMessage, Mail, Calendars, Reminders, Notes, Stocks, Weather, Music, Safari, and a few external services like Google and Wolfram Alpha. It could also tie into Find my Friends.
With iOS 6 Siri made compatible with the iPad, and gained the ability to provide information about sports, movies, and restaurants, as well the ability to open apps, post Facebook or Twitter updates, and hook into Apple's new Maps app for turn-by-turn navigation.
With iOS 7 Siri got a facelift to match the new design language, new, higher-quality voices, access to Settings and Voice Mail, the ability to display tweets from Twitter, tie ins to Wikipedia and Bing,
iOS 7.1 brought Siri integration with the new CarPlay feature. Siri also gained higher quality voices for Mandarin Chinese, U.K. English, Australian English, and Japanese, and a new push-to-talk feature to better control when Siri starts listening, and when it stops.
In iOS 8 Siri is gaining the ability to listen for the "Hey, Siri" command while plugged in. This is meant to help people while driving, while in bed, while cooking in the kitchen, or while likewise too far away or occupied to use the Home button for activation.
Siri is also being integrated into Apple's HomeKit framework so it can be used to control home automation. For example, saying "Good night Siri!" could make sure your garage is locked, lights and TVs are off, and temperature is reduced.
While Siri itself is integrated into the iOS Springboard system, the Siri team is still run quasi-independantly at Apple. Arguably modularizing Siri and integrating the team could allow for a broader scope of services over time. Apple has not yet released Siri for OS X on the Mac, nor have they provided an application programming interface (API) for developers to hook into. (Though it's unclear how that might affect partnership deals, and how collisions could be handled.)
Also, unlike Google Now, Apple hasn't yet put Siri on-board iOS devices, meaning even local tasks like setting alarms have to go out to the internet, allowing the network to affect performance. Likewise, Apple has thus far refrained from adding prescience to Siri, which would allow it to provide information before being asked.
enTwelve secret Siri commands for Apple Musichttp://www.imore.com/siri-commands-apple-music

With Siri you're only ever a press and a sentence away from controlling Apple Music.

With the launch of Apple Music, the iPhone and iPad's personal virtual assistant, Siri has gotten even more musical. Now you can not only call up anything from the Apple Music library, you can queue up What's Next, add to your library, like songs, find songs, and much, much more.

Updated to include additional commands and options!

Chart toppers

You can ask Siri to play the most successful music of the year—any year. For example, say "Play the top song from 1989", and Siri will add the 25 highest ranking tunes of that year to your Up Next queue.

You can also ask for a different number of songs, like top 10 or top 50.

More like this

If the currently playing song fits your mood, and you want to hear more like it, that's all you have to say: "Siri, play more like this!". Siri will add up to 50 similar songs to your Up Next queue so you can keep your groove on.

After this

The Apple Music library includes most of the songs from the iTunes Catalog, which means if you can think of it, there's an excellent chance Siri can not only find it, but immediately add it to your Up Next queue. Just say, "After this song, play Back in Black" or "Play Shake it Off next", or whatever you're in the mood for.

Instead of this

You can, of course, still ask Siri to play a song immediately, and now that includes any song from the Apple Music library. (As long as you have internet access.) Playing immediately will clear your Up Next queue, but sometimes that might be exactly what you want anyway. Tell Siri, "Play Walk this Way", or whichever song you want to hear now, now, now.

In addition to songs, you can also ask Siri to play any artist, album, or playlist.

What's this?

N sure, or simply blanking on, what song is playing, who sang it, or what album it's from? You can ask Siri. "What song is this?" "Who sang this?" "What album is this from?" are only ever a question away.

What's that?!

If the music playing isn't yours, but something on TV or at the coffee shop or even on a friend's device, "What song is this?" can still work. Thanks to built-in Shazam, Siri can listen and try to identify it for you.

**Siri's Shazam feature makes it is easy to buy the song from iTunes with just a few taps, but once you know the song's name, you can also tell Siri to play it for you from the Apple Music catalog.*

Like it (like that)

The For You section of the Music app contains playlists, albums, and songs Apple Music thinks you'll enjoy. When you "like" a song that's playing, that—along with other factors—influences For You. "Siri, like this song," lets it be known.

You can also ask Siri to rate songs for you. "Rte this song five stars," for example, will give it the best ranking possible.

Just skip it

Not every song in every playlist or Now Playing queue is going to be exactly what you want to hear at any given time. So, if something comes up that you just don't feel like, tell Siri to "Skip" it.

Whether you skipped or not, if you want to go back, just tell Siri to "Play previous".

Cover to cover

If you ask Siri to play a song, it will play the original or best known version. If you want a specific version, however, you can ask for that as well. "Play Smooth Criminal" will get you Michael Jackson, but "Play Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm" or "Play Smooth Criminal by Glee" will get you the covers.

Beats 1

In the mood for Beats 1? You can get Siri to turn the internet dial all the way to Apple's new radio station simply by saying, "Play Beats 1". Sadly, Siri doesn't reply with "ALWAYS ON! BREAKING! WORLD WIDE!".

Add to library

There are many ways to discover songs you like with Apple Music, and when you do, Siri makes it simple to add those songs to the My Music tab, so you can easily recall it at any time. Just say, "Add this song to my library," or "Add the new Phish album to my library".

Shuffle

Siri is now the easiest way—and sometimes maybe the only way—to shuffle anything and everything you want shuffled. If you have an Up Next queue or playlist playing, say "Shuffle" to mix it up. If you want to listen to an artist or album, say "Shuffle Public Enemy" or "Shuffle 1989".

More shortcuts

If we missed any of your favorite Siri commands for Apple Music, or for anything else, add them to the comments below. Also, don't miss our previous Siri and Apple Music shortcut lists. They'll make your iPhone or iPad faster and more convenient than ever.

With Siri you're only ever a press and a sentence away from controlling Apple Music.

With the launch of Apple Music, the iPhone and iPad's personal virtual assistant, Siri has gotten even more musical. Now you can not only call up anything from the Apple Music library, you can queue up What's Next, add to your library, like songs, find songs, and much, much more.

Updated to include additional commands and options!

Chart toppers

You can ask Siri to play the most successful music of the year—any year. For example, say "Play the top song from 1989", and Siri will add the 25 highest ranking tunes of that year to your Up Next queue.

You can also ask for a different number of songs, like top 10 or top 50.

More like this

If the currently playing song fits your mood, and you want to hear more like it, that's all you have to say: "Siri, play more like this!". Siri will add up to 50 similar songs to your Up Next queue so you can keep your groove on.

After this

The Apple Music library includes most of the songs from the iTunes Catalog, which means if you can think of it, there's an excellent chance Siri can not only find it, but immediately add it to your Up Next queue. Just say, "After this song, play Back in Black" or "Play Shake it Off next", or whatever you're in the mood for.

Instead of this

You can, of course, still ask Siri to play a song immediately, and now that includes any song from the Apple Music library. (As long as you have internet access.) Playing immediately will clear your Up Next queue, but sometimes that might be exactly what you want anyway. Tell Siri, "Play Walk this Way", or whichever song you want to hear now, now, now.

In addition to songs, you can also ask Siri to play any artist, album, or playlist.

What's this?

N sure, or simply blanking on, what song is playing, who sang it, or what album it's from? You can ask Siri. "What song is this?" "Who sang this?" "What album is this from?" are only ever a question away.

What's that?!

If the music playing isn't yours, but something on TV or at the coffee shop or even on a friend's device, "What song is this?" can still work. Thanks to built-in Shazam, Siri can listen and try to identify it for you.

**Siri's Shazam feature makes it is easy to buy the song from iTunes with just a few taps, but once you know the song's name, you can also tell Siri to play it for you from the Apple Music catalog.*

Like it (like that)

The For You section of the Music app contains playlists, albums, and songs Apple Music thinks you'll enjoy. When you "like" a song that's playing, that—along with other factors—influences For You. "Siri, like this song," lets it be known.

You can also ask Siri to rate songs for you. "Rte this song five stars," for example, will give it the best ranking possible.

Just skip it

Not every song in every playlist or Now Playing queue is going to be exactly what you want to hear at any given time. So, if something comes up that you just don't feel like, tell Siri to "Skip" it.

Whether you skipped or not, if you want to go back, just tell Siri to "Play previous".

Cover to cover

If you ask Siri to play a song, it will play the original or best known version. If you want a specific version, however, you can ask for that as well. "Play Smooth Criminal" will get you Michael Jackson, but "Play Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm" or "Play Smooth Criminal by Glee" will get you the covers.

Beats 1

In the mood for Beats 1? You can get Siri to turn the internet dial all the way to Apple's new radio station simply by saying, "Play Beats 1". Sadly, Siri doesn't reply with "ALWAYS ON! BREAKING! WORLD WIDE!".

Add to library

There are many ways to discover songs you like with Apple Music, and when you do, Siri makes it simple to add those songs to the My Music tab, so you can easily recall it at any time. Just say, "Add this song to my library," or "Add the new Phish album to my library".

Shuffle

Siri is now the easiest way—and sometimes maybe the only way—to shuffle anything and everything you want shuffled. If you have an Up Next queue or playlist playing, say "Shuffle" to mix it up. If you want to listen to an artist or album, say "Shuffle Public Enemy" or "Shuffle 1989".

More shortcuts

If we missed any of your favorite Siri commands for Apple Music, or for anything else, add them to the comments below. Also, don't miss our previous Siri and Apple Music shortcut lists. They'll make your iPhone or iPad faster and more convenient than ever.

]]>Sun, 12 Jul 2015 15:16:33 +0000Rene Ritchie32783 at http://www.imore.comhttp://www.imore.com/siri-commands-apple-music#commentshttp://www.imore.com/crss/node/3278338Siri in iOS 9 gets a new look and more intelligencehttp://www.imore.com/siri-ios-9-gets-new-look-more-intelligence-and-proactive

With their announcement today of iOS 9, Apple unveiled a new and improved Siri, as well as a new context-sensitive feature called Proactive.

During their reveal of iOS 9, Apple showed off the new enhancements coming to Siri, as well as a new feature designed to enhance how your devices work for you. Siri is getting a new interface that makes it easier to use, and is becoming more intelligent.

For instance, when you ask for photos from a particular place and time, Siri will open those photos in the Photos app. Reminders are more contextual, understanding what you're doing and the apps you're using. Developers will also get access to an API in order to integrate search into their apps, with deep links directly to their applications and back links to search results.

Proactive is an extension of this new contextual awareness. It uses context-sensitive data about your location, connections, and the time. It can do things like show you what's playing in Music when you plug in your headphones, and automatically adds invites to your calendar. Proactive can also search your email for phone numbers of non-contacts. Swiping left of your Home screen, Proactive will show you people you might want to contact, as well as apps you may want to launch based on what you're doing and the time of day.

It can also do things like look at traffic on an upcoming route before you leave, and tell you to leave earlier. All of this data is not associated with your Apple ID, not shared with Apple or third-party services, and is anonymized with a random identifier.

With their announcement today of iOS 9, Apple unveiled a new and improved Siri, as well as a new context-sensitive feature called Proactive.

During their reveal of iOS 9, Apple showed off the new enhancements coming to Siri, as well as a new feature designed to enhance how your devices work for you. Siri is getting a new interface that makes it easier to use, and is becoming more intelligent.

For instance, when you ask for photos from a particular place and time, Siri will open those photos in the Photos app. Reminders are more contextual, understanding what you're doing and the apps you're using. Developers will also get access to an API in order to integrate search into their apps, with deep links directly to their applications and back links to search results.

Proactive is an extension of this new contextual awareness. It uses context-sensitive data about your location, connections, and the time. It can do things like show you what's playing in Music when you plug in your headphones, and automatically adds invites to your calendar. Proactive can also search your email for phone numbers of non-contacts. Swiping left of your Home screen, Proactive will show you people you might want to contact, as well as apps you may want to launch based on what you're doing and the time of day.

It can also do things like look at traffic on an upcoming route before you leave, and tell you to leave earlier. All of this data is not associated with your Apple ID, not shared with Apple or third-party services, and is anonymized with a random identifier.

Just picked up a HomeKit-enabled device? Here's how to get it to work with Siri.

The first round of HomeKit devices are here, and with them comes the first home automation devices that can interact with Siri, Apple's voice-activated assistant. Once you've installed and connected your HomeKit device, here's how you set it up with Siri!

How to set up Siri with your HomeKit accessories

Apple doesn't make a unified Home.app, so each of your HomeKit accessories has to first be set up separately within their respective apps. Once you've done so, you'll need to open up the Siri Integration screen of the app to add those devices so that Siri can recognize them.

Siri understands custom names for devices, rooms, and zones (groupings of multiple rooms). By default, once you've named a HomeKit-enabled device, you'll be able to control it with its name, but you may also want to set up groupings of rooms and zones. Here's how to do so, though a note — exact steps may vary by app.

Add HomeKit Rooms to Siri

Open the Siri Integration screen in your HomeKit app of choice.

Tap on Rooms.

Tap the plus button to add a new room.

Name your room and select the devices you want to control within it.

Press Save.

Add HomeKit Zones to Siri

Open the Siri Integration screen in your HomeKit app of choice.

Tap on Zones.

Tap the plus button to add a new zone.

Name your zone and select the rooms you want to control within it.

Press Save.

Now, you can control all the devices in that room or zone by referring to it by name. It may take a few minutes for Siri to register those names, so don't panic if it doesn't happen immediately.

How to use your HomeKit accessories with multiple Apple IDs

If you have more than one person living in your home that you want to be able to control your HomeKit-enabled accessories, you can give them access via the Siri Integration screen. Here's how.

Open the Siri Integration screen in your HomeKit app of choice.

Tap Edit Home & Users.

Tap the Add User link to add your user's Apple ID.

Tap the Add User button.

Here are the commands you can use with Siri and HomeKit

When you first set up HomeKit, you can use Siri to turn things on and off, and adjust them:

If you also set up homes, zones, rooms, or scenes, you can use Siri to do things like:

Turn accessories on or off in specific homes, zones, or rooms

Adjust accessories in specific homes, zones, or rooms

Set specific scenes

Using those guidelines, I've put together some common phrases you can use when controlling your rooms and zones with Siri.

"Turn on the lights" - This all-purpose command will turn on any HomeKit-enabled lights that you have in your home.

"Turn on Whitey lights" - This will turn on the HomeKit-enabled lights called "Whitey".

"Turn on the lights in the Space Shuttle" - This will turn the lights on in a specific room (The Space Shuttle).

"Set the Living Room lights to 65" - This will dim the living room lights (if possible) to 65%. Note: You have to say "Living Room lights", because if you just say "Living Room", Siri will get confused and think you're talking about a HomeKit thermostat or other numerically-controlled device. Likewise, say "Living Room thermostat" to change your thermostat function.

"Close the Space Shuttle blinds" - This will close your automated blinds.

"Turn off the Compound" - This will turn on every device in The Compound (my custom grouping of both the Space Shuttle and the Living Room).

How to use Siri from afar (via your Apple TV)

If you have a third-generation Apple TV running the 7.0 software or later, you can give Siri commands outside your local Wi-Fi network and your Apple TV will relay commands accordingly to your HomeKit network. Here's how to set it up.

Here's what Siri can't do with HomeKit

Siri can't yet support custom phrasing, like "Crash the Compound!" (sorry, Rene!), Siri doesn't yet understand combining geofencing with phrases. You can't say, for example, "Turn the Compound lights off when I leave the house"; Siri will just assume you mean that you want the lights turned off immediately. There are several HomeKit devices that support geofencing and programmable scenes, however, so I'm hopeful that Siri might get this support sometime in the future.

Siri on Apple Watch won't currently accept any of these commands, booting you instead to your iPhone with Handoff.

Much of this is set to change with iOS 9, due for release this fall. We'll update when it's available for everyone.

Anything I missed?

Found a HomeKit Siri command I haven't covered above? Mention it in the comments.

Just picked up a HomeKit-enabled device? Here's how to get it to work with Siri.

The first round of HomeKit devices are here, and with them comes the first home automation devices that can interact with Siri, Apple's voice-activated assistant. Once you've installed and connected your HomeKit device, here's how you set it up with Siri!

How to set up Siri with your HomeKit accessories

Apple doesn't make a unified Home.app, so each of your HomeKit accessories has to first be set up separately within their respective apps. Once you've done so, you'll need to open up the Siri Integration screen of the app to add those devices so that Siri can recognize them.

Siri understands custom names for devices, rooms, and zones (groupings of multiple rooms). By default, once you've named a HomeKit-enabled device, you'll be able to control it with its name, but you may also want to set up groupings of rooms and zones. Here's how to do so, though a note — exact steps may vary by app.

Add HomeKit Rooms to Siri

Open the Siri Integration screen in your HomeKit app of choice.

Tap on Rooms.

Tap the plus button to add a new room.

Name your room and select the devices you want to control within it.

Press Save.

Add HomeKit Zones to Siri

Open the Siri Integration screen in your HomeKit app of choice.

Tap on Zones.

Tap the plus button to add a new zone.

Name your zone and select the rooms you want to control within it.

Press Save.

Now, you can control all the devices in that room or zone by referring to it by name. It may take a few minutes for Siri to register those names, so don't panic if it doesn't happen immediately.

How to use your HomeKit accessories with multiple Apple IDs

If you have more than one person living in your home that you want to be able to control your HomeKit-enabled accessories, you can give them access via the Siri Integration screen. Here's how.

Open the Siri Integration screen in your HomeKit app of choice.

Tap Edit Home & Users.

Tap the Add User link to add your user's Apple ID.

Tap the Add User button.

Here are the commands you can use with Siri and HomeKit

When you first set up HomeKit, you can use Siri to turn things on and off, and adjust them:

If you also set up homes, zones, rooms, or scenes, you can use Siri to do things like:

Turn accessories on or off in specific homes, zones, or rooms

Adjust accessories in specific homes, zones, or rooms

Set specific scenes

Using those guidelines, I've put together some common phrases you can use when controlling your rooms and zones with Siri.

"Turn on the lights" - This all-purpose command will turn on any HomeKit-enabled lights that you have in your home.

"Turn on Whitey lights" - This will turn on the HomeKit-enabled lights called "Whitey".

"Turn on the lights in the Space Shuttle" - This will turn the lights on in a specific room (The Space Shuttle).

"Set the Living Room lights to 65" - This will dim the living room lights (if possible) to 65%. Note: You have to say "Living Room lights", because if you just say "Living Room", Siri will get confused and think you're talking about a HomeKit thermostat or other numerically-controlled device. Likewise, say "Living Room thermostat" to change your thermostat function.

"Close the Space Shuttle blinds" - This will close your automated blinds.

"Turn off the Compound" - This will turn on every device in The Compound (my custom grouping of both the Space Shuttle and the Living Room).

How to use Siri from afar (via your Apple TV)

If you have a third-generation Apple TV running the 7.0 software or later, you can give Siri commands outside your local Wi-Fi network and your Apple TV will relay commands accordingly to your HomeKit network. Here's how to set it up.

Here's what Siri can't do with HomeKit

Siri can't yet support custom phrasing, like "Crash the Compound!" (sorry, Rene!), Siri doesn't yet understand combining geofencing with phrases. You can't say, for example, "Turn the Compound lights off when I leave the house"; Siri will just assume you mean that you want the lights turned off immediately. There are several HomeKit devices that support geofencing and programmable scenes, however, so I'm hopeful that Siri might get this support sometime in the future.

Siri on Apple Watch won't currently accept any of these commands, booting you instead to your iPhone with Handoff.

Much of this is set to change with iOS 9, due for release this fall. We'll update when it's available for everyone.

Anything I missed?

Found a HomeKit Siri command I haven't covered above? Mention it in the comments.

Want to dash a quick message off to your friends? Use Siri on your Apple Watch to get the job done.

When you're on the go and want to quickly reply or initiate a conversation to a friend, family member, or passing contact, you can use Siri on your Apple Watch to take care of it all.

How to send a message using Siri on your Apple Watch

To activate Siri, either say "Hey Siri" after you wake your Apple Watch, or press the Digital Crown.

You can send a text message to someone a couple of different ways, depending on your hands-free requirements.

To initiate a message with your voice, say "Send a message to [contact/phone number]". This will then bring you to the traditional Messages interface, where you can send a quick reply, emoji, and voice or text message.

To avoid tapping, you can send the entire message in one fell swoop, like this: "Tell [my friend] We're going out for sushi later period want to join question mark". You'll see a preview of your message, at which point you can either tap it to send, or say "Hey Siri, send".

How to reply to a message using Siri on your Apple Watch

You can also reply to messages using Siri.

When the notification comes in, you can respond to it one of two ways:

Want to dash a quick message off to your friends? Use Siri on your Apple Watch to get the job done.

When you're on the go and want to quickly reply or initiate a conversation to a friend, family member, or passing contact, you can use Siri on your Apple Watch to take care of it all.

How to send a message using Siri on your Apple Watch

To activate Siri, either say "Hey Siri" after you wake your Apple Watch, or press the Digital Crown.

You can send a text message to someone a couple of different ways, depending on your hands-free requirements.

To initiate a message with your voice, say "Send a message to [contact/phone number]". This will then bring you to the traditional Messages interface, where you can send a quick reply, emoji, and voice or text message.

To avoid tapping, you can send the entire message in one fell swoop, like this: "Tell [my friend] We're going out for sushi later period want to join question mark". You'll see a preview of your message, at which point you can either tap it to send, or say "Hey Siri, send".

How to reply to a message using Siri on your Apple Watch

You can also reply to messages using Siri.

When the notification comes in, you can respond to it one of two ways:

]]>Thu, 28 May 2015 21:00:08 +0000Serenity Caldwell31921 at http://www.imore.comhttp://www.imore.com/how-send-message-siri-apple-watch#commentshttp://www.imore.com/crss/node/319213Cortana is coming to the iPhone, but it won't have all of its Windows Phone featureshttp://www.imore.com/cortana-coming-iphone-it-wont-have-all-its-windows-phone-features

Microsoft is bringing its Cortana digital assistant to the massive audience of iPhone users later this year.

Microsoft says it will bring its Cortana digital assistant that was originally developed for Windows Phone 8.1, and later for Windows 10, to the iPhone sometime later this year The app will be a "companion" to the Windows 10 PC version of Cortana. Here's what Microsoft has to say about Cortana, which is also coming to Android.

The 'Phone Companion' app on the PC will help you install the Cortana app from the Google Play or Apple App Store onto your phone so you'll be able to take the intelligence of Cortana with you, wherever you go. The Cortana app can do most of the things Cortana does on your PC or on a Windows phone. You can have Cortana remind you to pick up milk the next time you're at the grocery store, and then your phone will wake up and buzz with the reminder. You'll be able to track a flight using Cortana on both your phone and your PC, and get the updates on the device that you're on so you don't miss anything. Everything in Cortana's Notebook will show up across all your devices and any changes you make on one device will be reflected when you use Cortana on any of your other devices. The Cortana companion app will help you complete tasks you begin on your PC wherever you are, on your phone.

However, Microsoft admits that Cortana won't have all of the features compared to the Windows Phone version:

Some features require access to the system that aren't currently possible with iOS or Android, so things like toggling settings or opening apps won't initially be available in the Cortana companions for those platforms. Similarly, the ability to invoke Cortana hands-free by saying "Hey Cortana" requires special integration with the device's microphone, so that feature will be limited to Windows Phones and PCs.

Microsoft is bringing its Cortana digital assistant to the massive audience of iPhone users later this year.

Microsoft says it will bring its Cortana digital assistant that was originally developed for Windows Phone 8.1, and later for Windows 10, to the iPhone sometime later this year The app will be a "companion" to the Windows 10 PC version of Cortana. Here's what Microsoft has to say about Cortana, which is also coming to Android.

The 'Phone Companion' app on the PC will help you install the Cortana app from the Google Play or Apple App Store onto your phone so you'll be able to take the intelligence of Cortana with you, wherever you go. The Cortana app can do most of the things Cortana does on your PC or on a Windows phone. You can have Cortana remind you to pick up milk the next time you're at the grocery store, and then your phone will wake up and buzz with the reminder. You'll be able to track a flight using Cortana on both your phone and your PC, and get the updates on the device that you're on so you don't miss anything. Everything in Cortana's Notebook will show up across all your devices and any changes you make on one device will be reflected when you use Cortana on any of your other devices. The Cortana companion app will help you complete tasks you begin on your PC wherever you are, on your phone.

However, Microsoft admits that Cortana won't have all of the features compared to the Windows Phone version:

Some features require access to the system that aren't currently possible with iOS or Android, so things like toggling settings or opening apps won't initially be available in the Cortana companions for those platforms. Similarly, the ability to invoke Cortana hands-free by saying "Hey Cortana" requires special integration with the device's microphone, so that feature will be limited to Windows Phones and PCs.

]]>Tue, 26 May 2015 12:47:46 +0000John Callaham31979 at http://www.imore.comhttp://www.imore.com/cortana-coming-iphone-it-wont-have-all-its-windows-phone-features#commentshttp://www.imore.com/crss/node/319791516 Siri commands to save you time on your Apple Watchhttp://www.imore.com/sixteen-siri-commands-save-time-apple-watch

Siri is a voice-controlled virtual personal assistant, and it's built right into your Apple Watch.

On the iPhone, Siri is a secondary interface used when talking is more convenient than tapping. On the Apple Watch, Siri is a primary interface. It's not just the only way to enter text and a much more convenient way to initiate actions, but it's also the only way to search web services like Wikipedia, Wolfram Alpha, and Bing images. Talking to your watch might seem like sci-fi, but Siri makes it a reality.

Set reminders

There may not be a Reminders app on the Apple Watch, but you can still use Siri to set reminders for a time or for a place. "Hey Siri, remind me to call Georgia when I get home."

Change alarms

Not only can Siri set alarms to wake you up or for any time at all, Siri can change an existing alarm to another time. Meeting cancelled? "Hey Siri, change my 7am alarm to 8am!"

Send messages

There are a ton of ways to send messages using Siri. You can "tell Steve", "send a message to 408-555-1212", "text Tim", or "reply to Angela", and you can add anything you want to the end of any of those. It's especially great when you hear a number and want to send a message to it immediately. "Hey Siri, text 4440! I want to win!"

Get the time... anywhere

Siri can tell you today's date and time, what days any date or holiday falls on, how many days are left until a special occasion, and also what the time is anywhere — even if the location isn't pre-set in your World Clock. "Hey Siri, what time is it in Tokyo?"

Set and start timers

You can set, pause, resume, and stop timers. So whether you're exercising or cooking, you can keep track of everything with just the sound of your voice. "Hey Siri, set a timer for 12 minutes."

Show your schedule

Creating meetings, even recurring meetings, is easy with Siri. But you can also check when a specific meeting is set for, or check your entire schedule, either for today or any day. "Hey Siri, what's my schedule for Monday?"

Call anyone

You can ask Siri to call anyone by saying their name, or their relationship to you (if it's been set), at home, work, or on a cell, or simply by saying the number. If someone gives you a number, it's a great way to call it without having to tap the whole thing out. "Hey Siri, call 408-555-1212."

Show the weather... anywhere

Siri can tell you the current temperature, chance of precipitation, and sunset/sunrise times. Not only for your current place and time, but for any place in the world, and any time in the next week. "Hey Siri, is it going to rain in Paris on Thursday?"

Find places

You can find out where you are, where the place is you're going, and get driving or walking directions between the two. But you can also find places to eat, like an Italian restaurant, and places that sell electronics, sell aspirin, or fix cars. "Hey Siri, where can I get coffee?"

Find movies

Whether you're looking for what's playing in your area or another, what movies are showing in 3D, who starred in The Avengers, which movie won Best Picture in 2012, or what the reviews are like for Ant-Man, Siri can tell you. "Hey Siri, where can I see Mad Max?"

Answer questions

Siri can tap into Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha to answer almost any question thrown its way, including calorie counts, math problems, geography, and general knowledge It's a great way to satisfy your curiosity, as well as settle family disputes and even win bets. "Hey Siri, what was the biggest dinosaur?"

Get scores

You can ask Siri all sorts of questions about sports, including team rosters, starters, game schedules, league and division standings, and of course scores. You can even ask what about TV channels. "Hey Siri, what channel is the hockey game on?"

Compare stocks

Current price, closing price, and the status of exchanges and the market are all things you can ask Siri. You can even ask Siri to compare two stocks. "Hey Siri, what's the difference between Apple and Google stocks?"

Launch apps

Pressing the digital crown, panning around for an icon, and tapping to launch an app is so old school. New school is just asking Siri. "Hey Siri, start a Workout."

Search for pictures

Your Apple Watch may not have Safari, but you can still search for images. You can ask to see pictures of your favorite singers or actors, cars or works of art, or anything else that interests you. "Hey Siri, show me the Hulk."

Tell me a story

Yes, it works on the Apple Watch as well. On the iPhone, Siri demurs repeatedly before finally relenting and telling its story. On the Apple Watch, at least so far, it tells the story right away. "Hey Siri, tell me a story!"

Handoff

There are some things Siri can't (yet) do on the Apple Watch, like show you Twitter results or make restaurant reservations. What Siri can do, however, is "Handoff" to your iPhone. Just look for the Siri icon at the bottom left of your iPhone lock screen, swipe up, and get your results!

More secret shortcuts

If you just can't get enough of Siri, or you want to learn more of the secrets to Apple mastery, check out our ultimate guides and secrets and tips pages. And if we missed any of your favorite Siri tips, add them to the comments below!

Siri is a voice-controlled virtual personal assistant, and it's built right into your Apple Watch.

On the iPhone, Siri is a secondary interface used when talking is more convenient than tapping. On the Apple Watch, Siri is a primary interface. It's not just the only way to enter text and a much more convenient way to initiate actions, but it's also the only way to search web services like Wikipedia, Wolfram Alpha, and Bing images. Talking to your watch might seem like sci-fi, but Siri makes it a reality.

Set reminders

There may not be a Reminders app on the Apple Watch, but you can still use Siri to set reminders for a time or for a place. "Hey Siri, remind me to call Georgia when I get home."

Change alarms

Not only can Siri set alarms to wake you up or for any time at all, Siri can change an existing alarm to another time. Meeting cancelled? "Hey Siri, change my 7am alarm to 8am!"

Send messages

There are a ton of ways to send messages using Siri. You can "tell Steve", "send a message to 408-555-1212", "text Tim", or "reply to Angela", and you can add anything you want to the end of any of those. It's especially great when you hear a number and want to send a message to it immediately. "Hey Siri, text 4440! I want to win!"

Get the time... anywhere

Siri can tell you today's date and time, what days any date or holiday falls on, how many days are left until a special occasion, and also what the time is anywhere — even if the location isn't pre-set in your World Clock. "Hey Siri, what time is it in Tokyo?"

Set and start timers

You can set, pause, resume, and stop timers. So whether you're exercising or cooking, you can keep track of everything with just the sound of your voice. "Hey Siri, set a timer for 12 minutes."

Show your schedule

Creating meetings, even recurring meetings, is easy with Siri. But you can also check when a specific meeting is set for, or check your entire schedule, either for today or any day. "Hey Siri, what's my schedule for Monday?"

Call anyone

You can ask Siri to call anyone by saying their name, or their relationship to you (if it's been set), at home, work, or on a cell, or simply by saying the number. If someone gives you a number, it's a great way to call it without having to tap the whole thing out. "Hey Siri, call 408-555-1212."

Show the weather... anywhere

Siri can tell you the current temperature, chance of precipitation, and sunset/sunrise times. Not only for your current place and time, but for any place in the world, and any time in the next week. "Hey Siri, is it going to rain in Paris on Thursday?"

Find places

You can find out where you are, where the place is you're going, and get driving or walking directions between the two. But you can also find places to eat, like an Italian restaurant, and places that sell electronics, sell aspirin, or fix cars. "Hey Siri, where can I get coffee?"

Find movies

Whether you're looking for what's playing in your area or another, what movies are showing in 3D, who starred in The Avengers, which movie won Best Picture in 2012, or what the reviews are like for Ant-Man, Siri can tell you. "Hey Siri, where can I see Mad Max?"

Answer questions

Siri can tap into Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha to answer almost any question thrown its way, including calorie counts, math problems, geography, and general knowledge It's a great way to satisfy your curiosity, as well as settle family disputes and even win bets. "Hey Siri, what was the biggest dinosaur?"

Get scores

You can ask Siri all sorts of questions about sports, including team rosters, starters, game schedules, league and division standings, and of course scores. You can even ask what about TV channels. "Hey Siri, what channel is the hockey game on?"

Compare stocks

Current price, closing price, and the status of exchanges and the market are all things you can ask Siri. You can even ask Siri to compare two stocks. "Hey Siri, what's the difference between Apple and Google stocks?"

Launch apps

Pressing the digital crown, panning around for an icon, and tapping to launch an app is so old school. New school is just asking Siri. "Hey Siri, start a Workout."

Search for pictures

Your Apple Watch may not have Safari, but you can still search for images. You can ask to see pictures of your favorite singers or actors, cars or works of art, or anything else that interests you. "Hey Siri, show me the Hulk."

Tell me a story

Yes, it works on the Apple Watch as well. On the iPhone, Siri demurs repeatedly before finally relenting and telling its story. On the Apple Watch, at least so far, it tells the story right away. "Hey Siri, tell me a story!"

Handoff

There are some things Siri can't (yet) do on the Apple Watch, like show you Twitter results or make restaurant reservations. What Siri can do, however, is "Handoff" to your iPhone. Just look for the Siri icon at the bottom left of your iPhone lock screen, swipe up, and get your results!

More secret shortcuts

If you just can't get enough of Siri, or you want to learn more of the secrets to Apple mastery, check out our ultimate guides and secrets and tips pages. And if we missed any of your favorite Siri tips, add them to the comments below!

"Hey Siri!" is an incredibly convenient way to activate your iPhone, iPad, and now... Apple Watch.

Update: The Apple Watch is here, which makes "Hey Siri!" even more convenient but can lead to even more collisions. Have your iPhone plugged in and your Apple Watch on, say the magic words, and how do you make sure the one that responds is the one you want?

The problem with "Hey Siri!" is everyone knows those words and every plugged-in iOS 8 device — and now Apple Watch —recognizes them. That leads to inopportune activations — mischievous and accidental alike. Google's "Okay Google Now" tries to learn your voice; if it hears someone else yell the activation phrase, it hopefully ignores it. That's an okay alternative if you're the only one who ever activates your device, you never get a stuffy nose or sore throat, or Kevin Spacey never manages to adequately imitate you. But if you do want your significant other, kids, or other friends or family members to be able to activate your iPhone or iPad, you'll still want magic words to work universally. You might just want different magic words.

If you've ever listened helplessly as an obnoxious podcast host yelled "Hey Siri"; yelled "Hey, seriously?!"; or even legitimately said "Hey Siri" only to have multiple iOS devices respond, you've probably wished for a way to customize Siri's magic words. "Okay Siri," "Yo Siri," "Open Siri Me," "My voice is my passport," "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot," — anything! The ability to set an alternative short phrase to activate Siri would make that feature much, much better.

Perhaps a "Customize 'Hey Siri!'" button could be added to Settings. Tap on it. Say your customized activation phrase. Have Siri show it to you as text and ask you to repeat it again for confirmation. Approve it. And you're good to "Go, go, Siri gadget go!"

If for some reason a purely customizable phrase isn't technologically viable — though given Siri's ability to call users by a custom nickname, it certainly seems in the realm of possibility — I'd settle for at least a half-dozen or so built-in options.

Whether or not Apple ever adds a Moto X-style always-listening coprocessor to the mix (allowing Siri to be voice-activated even when not plugged in), adding the ability to customize or change your activation phrase would help prevent obnoxious podcast hosts, mischief makers, accidental word collisions, and wrong device activations. It'll just work better.

"Hey Siri!" is an incredibly convenient way to activate your iPhone, iPad, and now... Apple Watch.

Update: The Apple Watch is here, which makes "Hey Siri!" even more convenient but can lead to even more collisions. Have your iPhone plugged in and your Apple Watch on, say the magic words, and how do you make sure the one that responds is the one you want?

The problem with "Hey Siri!" is everyone knows those words and every plugged-in iOS 8 device — and now Apple Watch —recognizes them. That leads to inopportune activations — mischievous and accidental alike. Google's "Okay Google Now" tries to learn your voice; if it hears someone else yell the activation phrase, it hopefully ignores it. That's an okay alternative if you're the only one who ever activates your device, you never get a stuffy nose or sore throat, or Kevin Spacey never manages to adequately imitate you. But if you do want your significant other, kids, or other friends or family members to be able to activate your iPhone or iPad, you'll still want magic words to work universally. You might just want different magic words.

If you've ever listened helplessly as an obnoxious podcast host yelled "Hey Siri"; yelled "Hey, seriously?!"; or even legitimately said "Hey Siri" only to have multiple iOS devices respond, you've probably wished for a way to customize Siri's magic words. "Okay Siri," "Yo Siri," "Open Siri Me," "My voice is my passport," "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot," — anything! The ability to set an alternative short phrase to activate Siri would make that feature much, much better.

Perhaps a "Customize 'Hey Siri!'" button could be added to Settings. Tap on it. Say your customized activation phrase. Have Siri show it to you as text and ask you to repeat it again for confirmation. Approve it. And you're good to "Go, go, Siri gadget go!"

If for some reason a purely customizable phrase isn't technologically viable — though given Siri's ability to call users by a custom nickname, it certainly seems in the realm of possibility — I'd settle for at least a half-dozen or so built-in options.

Whether or not Apple ever adds a Moto X-style always-listening coprocessor to the mix (allowing Siri to be voice-activated even when not plugged in), adding the ability to customize or change your activation phrase would help prevent obnoxious podcast hosts, mischief makers, accidental word collisions, and wrong device activations. It'll just work better.

During a recent meet-up, a slide showed that Apple considered Siri to be on its third generation architecture.

Like any major online service, Siri is constantly being updated behind the scenes to improve stability, scalability, and performance. This presentation is specific called out Apache Mesos as helping with all of that, as well as efficiency and latency, and the ability to more easily build out additional services. The Mesosphere blog:

Apple uses J.A.R.V.I.S. as its internal platform-as-a-service (similar in functionality to our open source Marathon framework) meaning it's an easier way for Siri's developers and engineers to deploy the services that the application needs to answer all those iOS users' voice queries. (If it answers them badly, blame the algorithms not the infrastructure.)

The take away here isn't Mesos or any particular component. The take away is that, just like with chipsets and software, Apple isn't slowing down when it comes to moving services technology forward, and that's good for everyone who uses it.

For more information on the ongoing evolution of Siri, check the link above.

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During a recent meet-up, a slide showed that Apple considered Siri to be on its third generation architecture.

Like any major online service, Siri is constantly being updated behind the scenes to improve stability, scalability, and performance. This presentation is specific called out Apache Mesos as helping with all of that, as well as efficiency and latency, and the ability to more easily build out additional services. The Mesosphere blog:

Apple uses J.A.R.V.I.S. as its internal platform-as-a-service (similar in functionality to our open source Marathon framework) meaning it's an easier way for Siri's developers and engineers to deploy the services that the application needs to answer all those iOS users' voice queries. (If it answers them badly, blame the algorithms not the infrastructure.)

The take away here isn't Mesos or any particular component. The take away is that, just like with chipsets and software, Apple isn't slowing down when it comes to moving services technology forward, and that's good for everyone who uses it.

For more information on the ongoing evolution of Siri, check the link above.

Siri, Apple's voice-activated digital assistant, is a huge part of the Apple Watch — and we're oh-so-thankful it is. Wrist-sized screens don't do so well with digital keyboards; instead, you can use pre-built text suggestions, dictation, and Siri to accomplish the majority of the tasks you'd otherwise complete with traditional text entry.

Watch Siri may not be quite as full-featured as iPhone Siri, but your digital assistant can still do a bunch of tasks — and chat with its iPhone buddy when at a loss. Here's a quick overview of what Siri can (and can't) do on the Apple Watch.

What Siri won't do

Before we get started on all the cool things Siri on your Watch can do, here's what it can't: work offline, or sans iPhone. You need your iPhone on and within range of your Watch for Siri to work; without the iPhone, Siri flashes its standard "Not Available" cry.

Settings, glorious settings

"Hey Siri, turn on Airplane mode."

Watch-based Siri is just as good at turning things on and off as iPhone Siri. You can ask your Watch to disable or enable Bluetooth, turn on Airplane mode, and even enable or disable accessibility features like VoiceOver. (Siri won't turn on Power Reserve mode, however.)

Time, dates, and alarms

"Hey Siri, what time is it in Kilkenny, Ireland?"

Siri is great at knowing what time it is — whether you're curious about the current time in your hometown or a city halfway across the world.

"Hey Siri, turn off my alarm for tomorrow at 7AM."

Your voice-based assistant can also turn alarms on or off, as well as set new alarms (including repeating alarms).

"Hey Siri, set a timer for ten minutes."

Need to boil some pasta or do some exercises? Siri can take care of any of your timing-based needs.

Communication is key

"Hey Siri, call my mother."

As on your iPhone, Siri can place calls for you if your recipient is in your Contacts list.

"Hey Siri, send a message to Rene."

You can't send Digital Touch, heartbeats, or animated emoji using Siri, but plain jane text messages work well enough. After you dictate your message, you'll even have the option to either send it as dictated text or as a voice memo.

Siri and productivity

"Hey Siri, create an event titled Pool Party for next Sunday."

Siri can handle making new calendar events for you, pulling up the next event of your day, and it can even add reminders to your lists — despite the fact that there's no official Reminders app for the Watch.

"Hey Siri, image search for Batman."

Siri will perform Bing image searches and Wikipedia queries on your Watch, but if you want detail beyond the initial response box, you'll have to pick up your iPhone.

The exercise machine

"Hey Siri, start a workout."

Don't have a hand free to tap on the Workout app? Siri is happy to start a workout for you, no fingers necessary.

The Watch maparium

"Hey Siri, show Philz Coffee on the map."

If you want to view a place, town, country, or street, just ask Siri and it'll make it all happen.

"Hey Siri, get me directions to the nearest gas station."

Siri on the Watch can be a great asset while you're otherwise occupied, pulling up directions that you can then use either your Watch or iPhone to navigate.

Miscellaneous calls

"Hey Siri, open the Weather app."

"Hey Siri, play Tonight Tonight by the Smashing Pumpkins."

Whether it's music to be played; apps to be opened; or stocks, sports scores, and weather information to hear about, Siri's got you covered. Just ask what you want to know and it will attempt to meet your needs as quickly as possible — and if it doesn't, you may well at least get a funny joke out of it.

Beam me up, Siri

If you want to send an email, make an OpenTable reservation, search the web or anything that might require more interaction with your screen, Siri notes that it won't be able to help you on the Watch, but will happily assist you on your iPhone using Handoff. To do this, just pick up your iPhone after your initial Siri query and swipe up on the Siri icon in the lower left corner of the screen.

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Siri, Apple's voice-activated digital assistant, is a huge part of the Apple Watch — and we're oh-so-thankful it is. Wrist-sized screens don't do so well with digital keyboards; instead, you can use pre-built text suggestions, dictation, and Siri to accomplish the majority of the tasks you'd otherwise complete with traditional text entry.

Watch Siri may not be quite as full-featured as iPhone Siri, but your digital assistant can still do a bunch of tasks — and chat with its iPhone buddy when at a loss. Here's a quick overview of what Siri can (and can't) do on the Apple Watch.

What Siri won't do

Before we get started on all the cool things Siri on your Watch can do, here's what it can't: work offline, or sans iPhone. You need your iPhone on and within range of your Watch for Siri to work; without the iPhone, Siri flashes its standard "Not Available" cry.

Settings, glorious settings

"Hey Siri, turn on Airplane mode."

Watch-based Siri is just as good at turning things on and off as iPhone Siri. You can ask your Watch to disable or enable Bluetooth, turn on Airplane mode, and even enable or disable accessibility features like VoiceOver. (Siri won't turn on Power Reserve mode, however.)

Time, dates, and alarms

"Hey Siri, what time is it in Kilkenny, Ireland?"

Siri is great at knowing what time it is — whether you're curious about the current time in your hometown or a city halfway across the world.

"Hey Siri, turn off my alarm for tomorrow at 7AM."

Your voice-based assistant can also turn alarms on or off, as well as set new alarms (including repeating alarms).

"Hey Siri, set a timer for ten minutes."

Need to boil some pasta or do some exercises? Siri can take care of any of your timing-based needs.

Communication is key

"Hey Siri, call my mother."

As on your iPhone, Siri can place calls for you if your recipient is in your Contacts list.

"Hey Siri, send a message to Rene."

You can't send Digital Touch, heartbeats, or animated emoji using Siri, but plain jane text messages work well enough. After you dictate your message, you'll even have the option to either send it as dictated text or as a voice memo.

Siri and productivity

"Hey Siri, create an event titled Pool Party for next Sunday."

Siri can handle making new calendar events for you, pulling up the next event of your day, and it can even add reminders to your lists — despite the fact that there's no official Reminders app for the Watch.

"Hey Siri, image search for Batman."

Siri will perform Bing image searches and Wikipedia queries on your Watch, but if you want detail beyond the initial response box, you'll have to pick up your iPhone.

The exercise machine

"Hey Siri, start a workout."

Don't have a hand free to tap on the Workout app? Siri is happy to start a workout for you, no fingers necessary.

The Watch maparium

"Hey Siri, show Philz Coffee on the map."

If you want to view a place, town, country, or street, just ask Siri and it'll make it all happen.

"Hey Siri, get me directions to the nearest gas station."

Siri on the Watch can be a great asset while you're otherwise occupied, pulling up directions that you can then use either your Watch or iPhone to navigate.

Miscellaneous calls

"Hey Siri, open the Weather app."

"Hey Siri, play Tonight Tonight by the Smashing Pumpkins."

Whether it's music to be played; apps to be opened; or stocks, sports scores, and weather information to hear about, Siri's got you covered. Just ask what you want to know and it will attempt to meet your needs as quickly as possible — and if it doesn't, you may well at least get a funny joke out of it.

Beam me up, Siri

If you want to send an email, make an OpenTable reservation, search the web or anything that might require more interaction with your screen, Siri notes that it won't be able to help you on the Watch, but will happily assist you on your iPhone using Handoff. To do this, just pick up your iPhone after your initial Siri query and swipe up on the Siri icon in the lower left corner of the screen.

Siri is Apple's virtual personal assistant and, with the Apple Watch, it's available right from your wrist.

Because Siri is voice activated, it doesn't require a keyboard or a lot of screen space to use. Because it's contextually aware, it can handle complex questions and commands. That makes it ideal for something like the Apple Watch, where it can often work faster and more conveniently than any other input method. What's more, you can activate Siri on your Apple Watch either manually, or simply with the power of your voice.

Siri is Apple's virtual personal assistant and, with the Apple Watch, it's available right from your wrist.

Because Siri is voice activated, it doesn't require a keyboard or a lot of screen space to use. Because it's contextually aware, it can handle complex questions and commands. That makes it ideal for something like the Apple Watch, where it can often work faster and more conveniently than any other input method. What's more, you can activate Siri on your Apple Watch either manually, or simply with the power of your voice.

Apple has launched an updated version of its Siri page today, detailing all of the digital assistant's capabilities and features.

The updated site features a number of different categories with details on how Siri can provide information on things like sports and entertainment, as well as tips and tricks for using the digital assistant for making phone calls and sending messages, staying organized, and tracking down nearby businesses and restaurants.

Upond landing on the page, users are presented with a quick description of how Siri works and what she can do:

Talk to Siri as you would to a friend and it can help you get things done — like sending messages, placing calls, or making dinner reservations. You can ask Siri to show you the Orion constellation or to flip a coin. Siri works hands-free, so you can ask it to show you the best route home and what your ETA is while driving. And it's connected to the world, working with Wikipedia, Yelp, Rotten Tomatoes, Shazam, and other online services to get you even more answers. The more you use Siri, the more you'll realize how great it is. And just how much it can do for you.

After scrolling down, the page then presents a number of categories that serve as a primer for using Siri to her fullest. Rather than providing long, detailed descriptions, however, the page simply lists a ton of different phrases and questions that you can ask Siri to show off what she can do. Overall, the site is a pretty good introduction to the digital assistant, and the "Tips & Tricks" section even points out some functionality that some users may not be familiar with, such as turning different settings on or off.

All-in-all, we recommend checking out the new Siri page for yourself. Who knows, you may discover some new tips and tricks for things you didn't know she could do. For more on Siri, also be sure to check out our ultimate guide to using Siri on the iPhone and iPad from the link below.

Apple has launched an updated version of its Siri page today, detailing all of the digital assistant's capabilities and features.

The updated site features a number of different categories with details on how Siri can provide information on things like sports and entertainment, as well as tips and tricks for using the digital assistant for making phone calls and sending messages, staying organized, and tracking down nearby businesses and restaurants.

Upond landing on the page, users are presented with a quick description of how Siri works and what she can do:

Talk to Siri as you would to a friend and it can help you get things done — like sending messages, placing calls, or making dinner reservations. You can ask Siri to show you the Orion constellation or to flip a coin. Siri works hands-free, so you can ask it to show you the best route home and what your ETA is while driving. And it's connected to the world, working with Wikipedia, Yelp, Rotten Tomatoes, Shazam, and other online services to get you even more answers. The more you use Siri, the more you'll realize how great it is. And just how much it can do for you.

After scrolling down, the page then presents a number of categories that serve as a primer for using Siri to her fullest. Rather than providing long, detailed descriptions, however, the page simply lists a ton of different phrases and questions that you can ask Siri to show off what she can do. Overall, the site is a pretty good introduction to the digital assistant, and the "Tips & Tricks" section even points out some functionality that some users may not be familiar with, such as turning different settings on or off.

All-in-all, we recommend checking out the new Siri page for yourself. Who knows, you may discover some new tips and tricks for things you didn't know she could do. For more on Siri, also be sure to check out our ultimate guide to using Siri on the iPhone and iPad from the link below.

Ever identified a song with Siri and then forgotten what the name was?

If you do several songs in a row, or it's been a while since you identified the song, it can be tough to remember. Luckily, when you ask Siri to identify a song, it keeps a record. In fact, it keeps an entire list right in iTunes. So, if you later decide you want to buy the song, or listen to it in your favorite music streaming app, all you have to do is know where to look!

How to view all songs you've identified with Siri via the iTunes app

Launch the iTunes app on your iPhone or iPad.

Tap on the list icon in the upper right hand corner.

Tap on the Siri tab in the top navigation.

You'll see an entire list of all the songs you've identified using Siri. Just pick the one you want and do whatever you want with it.

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Ever identified a song with Siri and then forgotten what the name was?

If you do several songs in a row, or it's been a while since you identified the song, it can be tough to remember. Luckily, when you ask Siri to identify a song, it keeps a record. In fact, it keeps an entire list right in iTunes. So, if you later decide you want to buy the song, or listen to it in your favorite music streaming app, all you have to do is know where to look!

How to view all songs you've identified with Siri via the iTunes app

Launch the iTunes app on your iPhone or iPad.

Tap on the list icon in the upper right hand corner.

Tap on the Siri tab in the top navigation.

You'll see an entire list of all the songs you've identified using Siri. Just pick the one you want and do whatever you want with it.

Yell "Hey, Siri!" on podcast — or out loud at an event — and you'll get dozens of complaints from people whose phones suddenly went into voice mode.

That might sound like an edge-case for Siri, Apple's personal digital assistant, but here's something more common — a family charging station with several iPhones devices plugged in. How do you target yours and yours alone? How do you make sure only your voice can activate Siri on your iPhone or iPad? On your Apple Watch? In your car or around your house?

To prevent false activations, the Apple Watch needs you to bring your wrist up and towards you before "Hey, Siri!" will work. The iPhone and iPad not so much. One way it could work is through voice biometrics. Think of it as a vocal fingerprint. Instead of Touch ID, think of it as Voice ID.

As the name implies, Voice ID biometrics could also be used for security the same way Touch ID biometrics are. Both our fingerprint and our speech patterns are "something we are". They can be used instead of passwords or passcodes, which are "something we know", or they can be used in conjunction for multi-factor authentication.

If you're a fan of the movie Sneakers, think of it as your voice truly being your passport.

I have no idea whether or not Apple plans to implement anything like this in iOS 9, of course, but the technology exists. Companies like Nuance are using it for a variety of applications already, and I'd love it if found its way into Siri one day.

You could register your voice the same way you register your fingerprint for Touch ID — by giving repeated samples.

The first time you hold down the Home button to activate Siri, it asks you to repeat a phrase, or several key phrases, three times each. Then it learns your voiceprint and the more you speak with it, the better than voiceprint gets. Again, just like Touch ID, but for your voice instead of your finger.

Voice ID could ensure that when someone yells "Hey, Siri!" on a podcast, or in a room with multiple iOS devices, only their Siri answers. Not mine, and not yours.

Voice ID could make it so that only you can access your iPhone or iPad or Apple Watch or CarPlay system or HomeKit system.

Biometrics wont solve all problems, of course. What if an iPhone, iPad, and future devices like a Siri-enabled Apple TV, all in the same room, are all yours? How would you target a specific device? "Hey, Siri on Rene's iPhone!" is workable but cumbersome. "Hey, iPhone!" locked to our Voice ID?

Taking existing technology and packaging it for the mainstream: These are the types of problems Apple is historically good at solving. Siri brought natural language voice control out of obscurity and onto hundreds of millions of devices. Thanks to its Pixar-like personality, we've learned to talk not only to it, but with it. And there's still a lot more Siri can do for us.

Siri has already made the microphone smart, the same way Touch ID made the Home button smart. But Touch ID also made the Home button personal. Voice ID could do the same for Siri.

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Yell "Hey, Siri!" on podcast — or out loud at an event — and you'll get dozens of complaints from people whose phones suddenly went into voice mode.

That might sound like an edge-case for Siri, Apple's personal digital assistant, but here's something more common — a family charging station with several iPhones devices plugged in. How do you target yours and yours alone? How do you make sure only your voice can activate Siri on your iPhone or iPad? On your Apple Watch? In your car or around your house?

To prevent false activations, the Apple Watch needs you to bring your wrist up and towards you before "Hey, Siri!" will work. The iPhone and iPad not so much. One way it could work is through voice biometrics. Think of it as a vocal fingerprint. Instead of Touch ID, think of it as Voice ID.

As the name implies, Voice ID biometrics could also be used for security the same way Touch ID biometrics are. Both our fingerprint and our speech patterns are "something we are". They can be used instead of passwords or passcodes, which are "something we know", or they can be used in conjunction for multi-factor authentication.

If you're a fan of the movie Sneakers, think of it as your voice truly being your passport.

I have no idea whether or not Apple plans to implement anything like this in iOS 9, of course, but the technology exists. Companies like Nuance are using it for a variety of applications already, and I'd love it if found its way into Siri one day.

You could register your voice the same way you register your fingerprint for Touch ID — by giving repeated samples.

The first time you hold down the Home button to activate Siri, it asks you to repeat a phrase, or several key phrases, three times each. Then it learns your voiceprint and the more you speak with it, the better than voiceprint gets. Again, just like Touch ID, but for your voice instead of your finger.

Voice ID could ensure that when someone yells "Hey, Siri!" on a podcast, or in a room with multiple iOS devices, only their Siri answers. Not mine, and not yours.

Voice ID could make it so that only you can access your iPhone or iPad or Apple Watch or CarPlay system or HomeKit system.

Biometrics wont solve all problems, of course. What if an iPhone, iPad, and future devices like a Siri-enabled Apple TV, all in the same room, are all yours? How would you target a specific device? "Hey, Siri on Rene's iPhone!" is workable but cumbersome. "Hey, iPhone!" locked to our Voice ID?

Taking existing technology and packaging it for the mainstream: These are the types of problems Apple is historically good at solving. Siri brought natural language voice control out of obscurity and onto hundreds of millions of devices. Thanks to its Pixar-like personality, we've learned to talk not only to it, but with it. And there's still a lot more Siri can do for us.

Siri has already made the microphone smart, the same way Touch ID made the Home button smart. But Touch ID also made the Home button personal. Voice ID could do the same for Siri.

]]>Fri, 20 Mar 2015 10:55:05 +0000Rene Ritchie30672 at http://www.imore.comhttp://www.imore.com/siri-and-potential-voice-id#commentshttp://www.imore.com/crss/node/3067221How to find out what time it is anywhere in the world with Sirihttp://www.imore.com/how-find-out-what-time-it-anywhere-world-siri

Ever need to figure out what time it is in some other corner of the world? Just ask Siri!

Time zones can be confusing. While the Clock app for iPhone and iPad lets you add all the locations you want to monitor current times, it's way easier to just ask Siri. As long as you know the location, Siri can tell you the current time and how far ahead or behind they are from your current location.

How to check times in other parts of the world with Siri

Press and hold your Home button to activate Siri.

Say something like "What time is it in Berlin, Germany?" — just substitute the location you want to know about.

Siri will quickly tell you what the local time and how much of a different it is from your current location.

]]>

Ever need to figure out what time it is in some other corner of the world? Just ask Siri!

Time zones can be confusing. While the Clock app for iPhone and iPad lets you add all the locations you want to monitor current times, it's way easier to just ask Siri. As long as you know the location, Siri can tell you the current time and how far ahead or behind they are from your current location.

How to check times in other parts of the world with Siri

Press and hold your Home button to activate Siri.

Say something like "What time is it in Berlin, Germany?" — just substitute the location you want to know about.

Siri will quickly tell you what the local time and how much of a different it is from your current location.

If you use Twitter on a regular basis, you've probably got your favorite Twitter apps but what about when you don't have the time or the hands? Next time you think of something particularly interesting or witty you'd like to share quickly, let Siri help you!

Before you can tweet using Siri, you'll need to make sure that you are signed into Twitter via the Settings app. If you aren't already, make sure you sign into your Twitter account before proceeding.

How to send a tweet with Siri for iPhone and iPad

Press and hold the Home button on your Phone or iPad.

Say something like "Post a tweet."

Tell Siri what you'd like your tweet to say.

Tap Send to confirm or say Yes when Siri asks if you'd like to post it.

]]>

How to let Siri tweet for you, no hands required!

If you use Twitter on a regular basis, you've probably got your favorite Twitter apps but what about when you don't have the time or the hands? Next time you think of something particularly interesting or witty you'd like to share quickly, let Siri help you!

Before you can tweet using Siri, you'll need to make sure that you are signed into Twitter via the Settings app. If you aren't already, make sure you sign into your Twitter account before proceeding.

How to send a tweet with Siri for iPhone and iPad

Press and hold the Home button on your Phone or iPad.

Say something like "Post a tweet."

Tell Siri what you'd like your tweet to say.

Tap Send to confirm or say Yes when Siri asks if you'd like to post it.

Most of us know how to manually update our Facebook statuses with the Facebook app, but did you know you can also have Siri do it for you? As long as you're signed into Facebook in the Settings app, all you have to do is ask!

How to post a Facebook Status update with Siri for iPhone and iPad

Press and hold your Home button to activate Siri.

Say something like "Update my Facebook status".

Tell Siri what you'd like your Facebook status to say.

Confirm by tapping Post or by saying Yes when Siri asks if you're ready to post.

]]>

Take the work out of status updates with Siri for iPhone and iPad

Most of us know how to manually update our Facebook statuses with the Facebook app, but did you know you can also have Siri do it for you? As long as you're signed into Facebook in the Settings app, all you have to do is ask!

How to post a Facebook Status update with Siri for iPhone and iPad

Press and hold your Home button to activate Siri.

Say something like "Update my Facebook status".

Tell Siri what you'd like your Facebook status to say.

Confirm by tapping Post or by saying Yes when Siri asks if you're ready to post.

While it's fun to browse the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBooks Store, sometimes you just want to find what you're looking for.

For those occasions, for when you know exactly what you're looking for and you don't want to so much as tap or type, there's Siri. Simply hold down the Home button, call up Apple's personal digital assistant, and have Siri do the searching for you. Here's how!

How to instantly search the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBooks Store with Siri

Press and hold your Home button to activate Siri.

Say "Search the App Store for workout apps" or "Find music in the iTunes Store by Maroon 5." or "Search for travel in iBooks." You can even say the name of a specific app or book if you know it.

Siri will automatically launch the App Store app or iTunes Store app and show you the results of its search.

]]>

While it's fun to browse the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBooks Store, sometimes you just want to find what you're looking for.

For those occasions, for when you know exactly what you're looking for and you don't want to so much as tap or type, there's Siri. Simply hold down the Home button, call up Apple's personal digital assistant, and have Siri do the searching for you. Here's how!

How to instantly search the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBooks Store with Siri

Press and hold your Home button to activate Siri.

Say "Search the App Store for workout apps" or "Find music in the iTunes Store by Maroon 5." or "Search for travel in iBooks." You can even say the name of a specific app or book if you know it.

Siri will automatically launch the App Store app or iTunes Store app and show you the results of its search.

Siri, originally created as a stand-alone App Store app by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer, and Tom Gruber, was bought by Apple and integrated into iOS 5 for the iPhone 4s launch in 2011.

A digital assistant with sequential inference and context awareness, Siri answers questions and executes commands not in a vacuum but in relation to whatever questions and commands came before. As Siri to find you a Starbucks and it will pull up a list of locations close to where you are. Ask for directions and it knows Starbucks is where you want to go and brings up the best route to get you there.

Apple has been steadily increasing Siri's abilities as well. The company has added partnerships with OpenTable and Fandango so you can plan dinner and a movie. It's also been tied into sports results, entertainment information, Wikipedia, Wolfram Alpha, and more. Most recently, Apple added "Hey Siri" for hands-free voice activation when your device is plugged in, streaming voice-to-text so dictation happens while you're talking, and integration with CarPlay and HomeKit so you can not only drive safer but control your house with a word.

There are still a lot of things Siri doesn't do, however, including "Google Now"-style predictive assistance — sifting through your data and crunching it on the cloud to try and anticipate your needs and present reminders and help in advance. It's hard to see that part changing in the near term, since Apple currently believes they shouldn't be aggregating and manipulating your personal data on their servers.

The Apple Watch is going to have Siri as well. Increasingly, it will be an interface through which we control and communicate with all the technology in our daily lives. So, if Apple asked you what you'd like to see in Siri for iOS 9, what would you say?

]]>

Siri, originally created as a stand-alone App Store app by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer, and Tom Gruber, was bought by Apple and integrated into iOS 5 for the iPhone 4s launch in 2011.

A digital assistant with sequential inference and context awareness, Siri answers questions and executes commands not in a vacuum but in relation to whatever questions and commands came before. As Siri to find you a Starbucks and it will pull up a list of locations close to where you are. Ask for directions and it knows Starbucks is where you want to go and brings up the best route to get you there.

Apple has been steadily increasing Siri's abilities as well. The company has added partnerships with OpenTable and Fandango so you can plan dinner and a movie. It's also been tied into sports results, entertainment information, Wikipedia, Wolfram Alpha, and more. Most recently, Apple added "Hey Siri" for hands-free voice activation when your device is plugged in, streaming voice-to-text so dictation happens while you're talking, and integration with CarPlay and HomeKit so you can not only drive safer but control your house with a word.

There are still a lot of things Siri doesn't do, however, including "Google Now"-style predictive assistance — sifting through your data and crunching it on the cloud to try and anticipate your needs and present reminders and help in advance. It's hard to see that part changing in the near term, since Apple currently believes they shouldn't be aggregating and manipulating your personal data on their servers.

The Apple Watch is going to have Siri as well. Increasingly, it will be an interface through which we control and communicate with all the technology in our daily lives. So, if Apple asked you what you'd like to see in Siri for iOS 9, what would you say?

]]>Sat, 28 Feb 2015 16:05:00 +0000Rene Ritchie30217 at http://www.imore.comhttp://www.imore.com/how-would-you-change-siri#commentshttp://www.imore.com/crss/node/30217102How to identify what song is playing with Siri and Shazamhttp://www.imore.com/how-identify-what-song-play-siri-and-shazam

Siri now works hand in hand with Shazam, the popular music tagging service. That means, instead of rushing and stumbling to find the Shazam app when a great song comes on and you're desperate to identify it, you can simply have Siri do it for you!

How to tag and identify songs with Siri and Shazam

Make sure the song you want to identify is playing in the background.

Press and hold the Home button to activate Siri.

Say something like "What song is this?" or "What song is playing?", any variation should work.

Siri will then listen and present a result.

If you'd like to purchase the song in iTunes, tap on the Buy button and you'll be taken right to it.

If you want the Shazam app itself to save your newly identified song to your history, make sure you tap on Shazam in the lower right corner. If you just close out of Siri, the tag won't be saved to your Shazam app.

Once you're done, tap the Home button to return to your Home screen.

If you use Rdio's premium service, you should remember to always perform step 6 so your tags not only save in Shazam for reference later, but saves to your Rdio playlist of Shazam tags — if you've chosen to enable that feature. If you don't use Rdio or Shazam you can of course ignore step 6 altogether and just close out of Siri when you're done!

]]>

Siri now works hand in hand with Shazam, the popular music tagging service. That means, instead of rushing and stumbling to find the Shazam app when a great song comes on and you're desperate to identify it, you can simply have Siri do it for you!

How to tag and identify songs with Siri and Shazam

Make sure the song you want to identify is playing in the background.

Press and hold the Home button to activate Siri.

Say something like "What song is this?" or "What song is playing?", any variation should work.

Siri will then listen and present a result.

If you'd like to purchase the song in iTunes, tap on the Buy button and you'll be taken right to it.

If you want the Shazam app itself to save your newly identified song to your history, make sure you tap on Shazam in the lower right corner. If you just close out of Siri, the tag won't be saved to your Shazam app.

Once you're done, tap the Home button to return to your Home screen.

If you use Rdio's premium service, you should remember to always perform step 6 so your tags not only save in Shazam for reference later, but saves to your Rdio playlist of Shazam tags — if you've chosen to enable that feature. If you don't use Rdio or Shazam you can of course ignore step 6 altogether and just close out of Siri when you're done!

As long as it's plugged in and within range of your voice, all you have to do is say the magic word and Siri will wake-up and wait for your question or command. It's great for the iPhone when you're in bed or in the car, or the iPad when you're cooking in the kitchen or wondering around the house. It's voice activation for your voice control!

How to enable Hey Siri on your iPhone or iPad

Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.

Tap on General.

Tap on Siri.

Turn On the option for Hey Siri.

How to use your iPhone or iPad hands-free with Hey Siri

Make sure your iPhone or iPad is plugged into a charger.

Say Hey Siri.

Use Siri just as you normally would!

]]>

"Hey Siri" lets you use your iPhone or iPad hands-free.

As long as it's plugged in and within range of your voice, all you have to do is say the magic word and Siri will wake-up and wait for your question or command. It's great for the iPhone when you're in bed or in the car, or the iPad when you're cooking in the kitchen or wondering around the house. It's voice activation for your voice control!

Siri, Apple's virtual personal assistant, has been improving steadily since its introducing in 2011. Streaming text to speech is one of the most recent and obvious areas of improvement, but Siri has also been adding new features and better language support. In a recent test that spanned languages, Siri scored a remarkable 76% for accuracy. That's compared to 46% for Google Now and 42% for Microsoft Cortana. Sophie Salonga, writing for Venture Beat:

In conclusion, Siri won this battle, Cortana was voted "most likely to go to web search" and Google Now needs to go back to college and pick up a few Mandarin classes.

She's picking on Google Now for Mandarin because it dropped accuracy by more than half, which is bu hao.

Accuracy is important, because the better a virtual assistant can understand your query, the better it can return helpful results. Nothing will ever be perfect, because language is complex and things like names make it even more so, which is why it's also great that if Siri is pronouncing a name wrong, you can teach it the proper pronunciation. You can tap an error in transcription, edit it it, and Siri will return an updated result.

When you combine "Hey, Siri", which allows for optional voice-activation when plugged into AC power, the ability to post Facebook status updates, to ask how much time is left in a sports event, to play podcasts by show or episode, buy iTunes Radio songs or gift certificates, and search for tweets posted by specific people, it makes Siri even more useful to even more people for even more things.

Throw out a landmark like Statue of Liberty or Great Wall of China and you'll get maps or Wikipedia results giving you all the information you need.

Siri also does sequential inference, so if you ask about the capital of Germany, it will tell you Berlin. Then, if you ask what the population is, without mentioning a specific place, Siri assumes you're continuing the same conversation and gives you the population of Berlin. Or if you say "what's Ally's phone number", and then "call her", Siri knows to call Ally.

Apple does, intentionally, limit Siri's scope. As a company, Apple is against harvesting its customer data. Apple doesn't want to be monitoring our web history, for example, or running analysis and transactions against our mail or calendars on its servers.

That means Siri is not allowed to do some of the things competing products that get access to far more of our information can do. Just liked security, privacy is continually at war with convenience and it's up to each company and each individual to decide how much of one they're willing to give up for the other.

Update: GlobalMe has published the testing procedure and result charts.

]]>

Siri, Apple's virtual personal assistant, has been improving steadily since its introducing in 2011. Streaming text to speech is one of the most recent and obvious areas of improvement, but Siri has also been adding new features and better language support. In a recent test that spanned languages, Siri scored a remarkable 76% for accuracy. That's compared to 46% for Google Now and 42% for Microsoft Cortana. Sophie Salonga, writing for Venture Beat:

In conclusion, Siri won this battle, Cortana was voted "most likely to go to web search" and Google Now needs to go back to college and pick up a few Mandarin classes.

She's picking on Google Now for Mandarin because it dropped accuracy by more than half, which is bu hao.

Accuracy is important, because the better a virtual assistant can understand your query, the better it can return helpful results. Nothing will ever be perfect, because language is complex and things like names make it even more so, which is why it's also great that if Siri is pronouncing a name wrong, you can teach it the proper pronunciation. You can tap an error in transcription, edit it it, and Siri will return an updated result.

When you combine "Hey, Siri", which allows for optional voice-activation when plugged into AC power, the ability to post Facebook status updates, to ask how much time is left in a sports event, to play podcasts by show or episode, buy iTunes Radio songs or gift certificates, and search for tweets posted by specific people, it makes Siri even more useful to even more people for even more things.

Throw out a landmark like Statue of Liberty or Great Wall of China and you'll get maps or Wikipedia results giving you all the information you need.

Siri also does sequential inference, so if you ask about the capital of Germany, it will tell you Berlin. Then, if you ask what the population is, without mentioning a specific place, Siri assumes you're continuing the same conversation and gives you the population of Berlin. Or if you say "what's Ally's phone number", and then "call her", Siri knows to call Ally.

Apple does, intentionally, limit Siri's scope. As a company, Apple is against harvesting its customer data. Apple doesn't want to be monitoring our web history, for example, or running analysis and transactions against our mail or calendars on its servers.

That means Siri is not allowed to do some of the things competing products that get access to far more of our information can do. Just liked security, privacy is continually at war with convenience and it's up to each company and each individual to decide how much of one they're willing to give up for the other.

Siri launched in 2011 and can now be found on all modern iPhones and iPads. It's a virtual digital assistant that uses natural language voice control and sequential inference to listen to what you want and provide the best possible information or answer it can provide. It can help you stay connected, organize your life, and get thing done both professional and personal. It can also do a lot of cool tricks... all you have to do is know what to ask!

1. Zero cookies!

Siri has amazing sense of humor, and can show it off in the most unexpected ways. For example, ask Siri: "What's zero divided by zero?" Sure, 0/0 sounds like dull math, and what Siri shows isn't in any way exciting... but wait until you hear the reply!

1. The name's Bond... No, not boned!

Siri will default to using your name and the name of your contacts. If you want to change that, tell Siri: "Call me 'honey muffin' " or "Gwendolyn is my mom". If Siri has trouble pronouncing a name or nickname, tell it: "That's not how you pronounce 'A Lie'!" and it will ask you for the correct pronunciation.

2. Cone of silence!

If you were out way too late, if you need to get some work done and people just won't leave you alone, if all you want is a little peace and quiet, tell Siri: "Do not disturb". If you want to go nuclear, you can tell it: "Delete all alarms" and even "Airplane mode".

3. Are we there yet?

Not only can Siri take you where you need to go, it can tell you how long it will take you to get there. You can tell it: "Take me home" to get quick directions. "Walking directions to Starbucks" if you prefer sneaker to tire. Even "ETA" to find out how much longer you have to go.

4. Remember the... bacon!

Siri is the faster way to add anything to a Reminders list, and that means it's the fastest way to add anything to a shopping, packing, party, or any other list. To get specific, tell Siri: "Add bacon to shopping list" or "Add bacon to packing list" (what?).

5. Mathamagics

Thanks to Wolfram Alpha, Siri is great with numbers. For simple math, ask Siri: "What's 10 times 10?" or "What's the square root of 50?". For tips, ask: "What's the tip on $100". For conversions: "How many kilometers in a mile". For chance, tell it: "Flip a coin" or "roll the dice".

6. What birthday...?

Instead of excusing yourself, racing upstairs, jumping out the window, and tearing off to the only open Quicky Mart, ask Siri: "When's Kelly's birthday?", then: "Set a reminder" for the date or, f it's already too late: "Buy an iTunes gift card!".

7. Directed dictation

When you're telling Siri what to type, you can dictate punctuation like "comma" or "elipses", symbols like "hashtag" and "copyright sign", and even emoticons: "smiley" or "winky". You can format with "new line" or "new paragraph", prevent formatting with "hyper no space space", and get loud with "ALL CAPS".

8. Keep current

Siri can set reminders, make appointments, send messages and email, Tweet or post to Facebook, but it can also keep you up to date. Ask Siri: "What time is sunset in Cupertino?", "What's the weather in London?", "What's on my calendar?", "Planes overhead?", "Pictures of the Golden Globes", or "Trending on Twitter".

9. Win fights and influence diets

Siri can quickly settle arguments, bar bets, and flat-out fights. Ask Siri: "Who starred in the Matrix?", "Who won the last SuperBowl?", "What did Apple close at?", or "How many calories are in a Big Mac?". And if you're wrong and end up paying for dinner or a movie, Siri can find you tickets and book a table at a restaurant as well.

10. Do over!

If Siri gets something wrong, or if you realize you asked the wrong question, you can tel Siri to: "Change" things like dates and times. You can even tap the question you asked and manually type in different words to alter the query.

11. Goodnight, Siri

When HomeKit accessories start hitting the shelves this spring, we'll be able to use Siri to turn off and shut down our homes: "Goodnight" or, my preference, "Crash the compound". While we're waiting, we can still get Siri to read us a birthday story. Just ask thrice.

12. Bonus: chit chat!

Siri has a sense of humor. Kids can talk to Siri like a virtual friend. Kids of all ages just have some fun. You can give Siri all sorts of pop culture references: "What do you think of Google Now?", "tell me a joke", or "Will you marry me?".

13. More Siri and secrets

If you just can't get enough of Siri, or you want to learn more of the secrets to iPhone mastery, check out our ultimate guides and secrets and tips pages. And if we missed any of your favorite Siri tips, add them to the comments below!

Siri launched in 2011 and can now be found on all modern iPhones and iPads. It's a virtual digital assistant that uses natural language voice control and sequential inference to listen to what you want and provide the best possible information or answer it can provide. It can help you stay connected, organize your life, and get thing done both professional and personal. It can also do a lot of cool tricks... all you have to do is know what to ask!

1. Zero cookies!

Siri has amazing sense of humor, and can show it off in the most unexpected ways. For example, ask Siri: "What's zero divided by zero?" Sure, 0/0 sounds like dull math, and what Siri shows isn't in any way exciting... but wait until you hear the reply!

1. The name's Bond... No, not boned!

Siri will default to using your name and the name of your contacts. If you want to change that, tell Siri: "Call me 'honey muffin' " or "Gwendolyn is my mom". If Siri has trouble pronouncing a name or nickname, tell it: "That's not how you pronounce 'A Lie'!" and it will ask you for the correct pronunciation.

2. Cone of silence!

If you were out way too late, if you need to get some work done and people just won't leave you alone, if all you want is a little peace and quiet, tell Siri: "Do not disturb". If you want to go nuclear, you can tell it: "Delete all alarms" and even "Airplane mode".

3. Are we there yet?

Not only can Siri take you where you need to go, it can tell you how long it will take you to get there. You can tell it: "Take me home" to get quick directions. "Walking directions to Starbucks" if you prefer sneaker to tire. Even "ETA" to find out how much longer you have to go.

4. Remember the... bacon!

Siri is the faster way to add anything to a Reminders list, and that means it's the fastest way to add anything to a shopping, packing, party, or any other list. To get specific, tell Siri: "Add bacon to shopping list" or "Add bacon to packing list" (what?).

5. Mathamagics

Thanks to Wolfram Alpha, Siri is great with numbers. For simple math, ask Siri: "What's 10 times 10?" or "What's the square root of 50?". For tips, ask: "What's the tip on $100". For conversions: "How many kilometers in a mile". For chance, tell it: "Flip a coin" or "roll the dice".

6. What birthday...?

Instead of excusing yourself, racing upstairs, jumping out the window, and tearing off to the only open Quicky Mart, ask Siri: "When's Kelly's birthday?", then: "Set a reminder" for the date or, f it's already too late: "Buy an iTunes gift card!".

7. Directed dictation

When you're telling Siri what to type, you can dictate punctuation like "comma" or "elipses", symbols like "hashtag" and "copyright sign", and even emoticons: "smiley" or "winky". You can format with "new line" or "new paragraph", prevent formatting with "hyper no space space", and get loud with "ALL CAPS".

8. Keep current

Siri can set reminders, make appointments, send messages and email, Tweet or post to Facebook, but it can also keep you up to date. Ask Siri: "What time is sunset in Cupertino?", "What's the weather in London?", "What's on my calendar?", "Planes overhead?", "Pictures of the Golden Globes", or "Trending on Twitter".

9. Win fights and influence diets

Siri can quickly settle arguments, bar bets, and flat-out fights. Ask Siri: "Who starred in the Matrix?", "Who won the last SuperBowl?", "What did Apple close at?", or "How many calories are in a Big Mac?". And if you're wrong and end up paying for dinner or a movie, Siri can find you tickets and book a table at a restaurant as well.

10. Do over!

If Siri gets something wrong, or if you realize you asked the wrong question, you can tel Siri to: "Change" things like dates and times. You can even tap the question you asked and manually type in different words to alter the query.

11. Goodnight, Siri

When HomeKit accessories start hitting the shelves this spring, we'll be able to use Siri to turn off and shut down our homes: "Goodnight" or, my preference, "Crash the compound". While we're waiting, we can still get Siri to read us a birthday story. Just ask thrice.

12. Bonus: chit chat!

Siri has a sense of humor. Kids can talk to Siri like a virtual friend. Kids of all ages just have some fun. You can give Siri all sorts of pop culture references: "What do you think of Google Now?", "tell me a joke", or "Will you marry me?".

13. More Siri and secrets

If you just can't get enough of Siri, or you want to learn more of the secrets to iPhone mastery, check out our ultimate guides and secrets and tips pages. And if we missed any of your favorite Siri tips, add them to the comments below!

]]>Sat, 24 Jan 2015 19:55:59 +0000Rene Ritchie29561 at http://www.imore.comhttp://www.imore.com/secret-siri-commands-ten-ways-amp-your-digital-assistant#commentshttp://www.imore.com/crss/node/2956153Windows 10 adds Cortana — is it time for Siri on the Mac?http://www.imore.com/windows-10-adds-cortana-it-time-siri-mac

This week Microsoft unveiled big plans at its Windows 10 event, and announced that Cortana — its answer to Siri for Windows Phone — would make its way to the computer, as well. Is it time for Apple to bring Siri to the Mac?

Siri has been a mainstay of iOS since the iPhone 4S was introduced in 2011. It's a natural language interface that makes it possible to talk to your iPhone or iPad device rather than tap on the screen. For a long time you had to hold down the Home button (or Touch ID sensor) on your iOS device to activate it, but starting with iOS 8, Apple introduced a handsfree mode that activates when you say "Hey, Siri" (provided the device is plugged in to a power source).

Siri started out as a fun novelty, but over time it's grown in usefulness. The handsfree mode makes it much easier to interact with the phone when you're doing something else. There's a case to be made for using it while driving, though I don't recommend that drivers do anything that distracts them from driving. I personally use it at home, sometimes to send iMessages, set reminders and alarms, even to change up my music playlist when I'm working out.

But Siri remains mated specifically to my iPhone (and iPad). Thanks to a long history of accessibility enhancements designed to help users with limited mobility, Apple certainly has no shortage of voice control for the Mac — you can use voice dictation to speak instead of typing, and that extends to deep integration with the user interface as well.

Siri is different: It's not just a handsfree voice-based user interface. It's a deep knowledge navigator that can interpret what you're asking and offer contextual responses in more sophisticated ways than you can on the Mac, pulling data from web sites when you ask it questions, interacting with content that's already on your device in meaningful ways.

We've long heard rumors that Apple has tested Siri integration with the Mac; I remember reading about the possibility back when OS X Mavericks was still in development. Whether that's wishful thinking or indicative of a shelved internal Apple project is conjecture at this point, of course.

With OS X Yosemite, Spotlight began offering answers that were Siri-like, but without the voice control features. We also saw one possible way forward: Continuity. Apple's blurred the lines between iOS 8 and OS X by offering tight integration that makes it less important what device you're using, focusing on tasks instead — so you can take and make calls on your Mac if your iPhone is nearby, or open up a Safari web page or continue working on an e-mail on your Mac that you started on your iPad.

These are exciting features, and while Apple hasn't worked out all the kinks, it could pave the way for Siri to be accessible on the Mac even if it's not actually on the Mac.

Another piece of the puzzle concerns an emerging technology that we've been hearing about from Apple since it first took the wraps off at WWDC last year: HomeKit — a development framework created for iOS 8 to help control accessories in the home. There's a huge buzz in the consumer electronics industry about "the Internet of everything:" The idea that soon, all of our devices from thermostats to lights to appliances will be connected and communicating. HomeKit is Apple's attempt to bring some measure of integration between its own products and that technology.

HomeKit is still at a nascent stage, but at this year's Consumer Electronics Show developers working on HomeKit-compatible products demonstrated the ability to remote-control features from outside the house using Siri — provided you have a third-generation Apple TV running at home. Apple TV isn't set up as a home automation hub, and doesn't work with Siri independently, but still acts as a vital link the framework to help this technology work.

Maybe the question isn't whether Siri needs to come to the Mac at all, but just to be accessible regardless of what device you're using. If that's the case, we may be seeing Siri make it to the Mac after all, even if it's not in the way we first thought.

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This week Microsoft unveiled big plans at its Windows 10 event, and announced that Cortana — its answer to Siri for Windows Phone — would make its way to the computer, as well. Is it time for Apple to bring Siri to the Mac?

Siri has been a mainstay of iOS since the iPhone 4S was introduced in 2011. It's a natural language interface that makes it possible to talk to your iPhone or iPad device rather than tap on the screen. For a long time you had to hold down the Home button (or Touch ID sensor) on your iOS device to activate it, but starting with iOS 8, Apple introduced a handsfree mode that activates when you say "Hey, Siri" (provided the device is plugged in to a power source).

Siri started out as a fun novelty, but over time it's grown in usefulness. The handsfree mode makes it much easier to interact with the phone when you're doing something else. There's a case to be made for using it while driving, though I don't recommend that drivers do anything that distracts them from driving. I personally use it at home, sometimes to send iMessages, set reminders and alarms, even to change up my music playlist when I'm working out.

But Siri remains mated specifically to my iPhone (and iPad). Thanks to a long history of accessibility enhancements designed to help users with limited mobility, Apple certainly has no shortage of voice control for the Mac — you can use voice dictation to speak instead of typing, and that extends to deep integration with the user interface as well.

Siri is different: It's not just a handsfree voice-based user interface. It's a deep knowledge navigator that can interpret what you're asking and offer contextual responses in more sophisticated ways than you can on the Mac, pulling data from web sites when you ask it questions, interacting with content that's already on your device in meaningful ways.

We've long heard rumors that Apple has tested Siri integration with the Mac; I remember reading about the possibility back when OS X Mavericks was still in development. Whether that's wishful thinking or indicative of a shelved internal Apple project is conjecture at this point, of course.

With OS X Yosemite, Spotlight began offering answers that were Siri-like, but without the voice control features. We also saw one possible way forward: Continuity. Apple's blurred the lines between iOS 8 and OS X by offering tight integration that makes it less important what device you're using, focusing on tasks instead — so you can take and make calls on your Mac if your iPhone is nearby, or open up a Safari web page or continue working on an e-mail on your Mac that you started on your iPad.

These are exciting features, and while Apple hasn't worked out all the kinks, it could pave the way for Siri to be accessible on the Mac even if it's not actually on the Mac.

Another piece of the puzzle concerns an emerging technology that we've been hearing about from Apple since it first took the wraps off at WWDC last year: HomeKit — a development framework created for iOS 8 to help control accessories in the home. There's a huge buzz in the consumer electronics industry about "the Internet of everything:" The idea that soon, all of our devices from thermostats to lights to appliances will be connected and communicating. HomeKit is Apple's attempt to bring some measure of integration between its own products and that technology.

HomeKit is still at a nascent stage, but at this year's Consumer Electronics Show developers working on HomeKit-compatible products demonstrated the ability to remote-control features from outside the house using Siri — provided you have a third-generation Apple TV running at home. Apple TV isn't set up as a home automation hub, and doesn't work with Siri independently, but still acts as a vital link the framework to help this technology work.

Maybe the question isn't whether Siri needs to come to the Mac at all, but just to be accessible regardless of what device you're using. If that's the case, we may be seeing Siri make it to the Mac after all, even if it's not in the way we first thought.

Siri is useful for all kinds of things, including quickly sending an iTunes gift card.

Wait, what? You didn't know that? Well, neither did I, not until this week! Whether you forget that birthday or just want to give a random gift of kindness, Siri can help you do it quickly and easily. All you have to do is ask!

How to send an iTunes gift card using Siri

Press and hold your Home button to launch Siri.

Say something like "I want to purchase an iTunes gift card."

Siri will automatically launch iTunes and bring up the iTunes gift card option.

Fill out the required information, select an amount, and tap Next in the top right corner.

Select the gift card theme you want to use and tap Next again.

Confirm everything looks okay and tap Buy in the upper right hand corner.

Enter any iTunes account info to finish the purchase and you're done!

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Siri is useful for all kinds of things, including quickly sending an iTunes gift card.

Wait, what? You didn't know that? Well, neither did I, not until this week! Whether you forget that birthday or just want to give a random gift of kindness, Siri can help you do it quickly and easily. All you have to do is ask!

How to send an iTunes gift card using Siri

Press and hold your Home button to launch Siri.

Say something like "I want to purchase an iTunes gift card."

Siri will automatically launch iTunes and bring up the iTunes gift card option.

Fill out the required information, select an amount, and tap Next in the top right corner.

Select the gift card theme you want to use and tap Next again.

Confirm everything looks okay and tap Buy in the upper right hand corner.

I use Siri all the time. It's gotten so that I'm often too lazy to tap or type. I use it for reminders, for alarms, for searches, for reservations, and for a lot more. If I have an idea and I'm driving and don't want to forget it, I'll just say "Hey, Siri", dictate a note, and touch it up later as needed. And in my experience, John Gruber is spot on. Daring Fireball:

I've noticed over the past year that Siri is getting faster — both at parsing spoken input and returning results. I use iOS's voice-to-text dictation feature on a near-daily basis, and it's especially noticeable there. I've been using a Moto X running Android 5.0 the past few weeks, so today I did a side-by-side comparison between Siri and Android's Google Now, asking both the simple question, "What temperature is it outside?" Both phones were on the same Wi-Fi network. Siri was consistently as fast or faster. I made a video that shows them in pretty much a dead heat.

iOS 8's streaming speech-to-text is especially notable. You see it rendering while you're speaking and what's more — you see it changing the words it's already rendered as it gets additional context. Apple's been investing a lot in voice, and it's paying off. Sure, it would be great if they localized processes that didn't require internet access, like setting an alarm, but compared to 2011, it's already night and day. It's gone from punchline to productive feature.

Lastly, a rather obvious but important observation: Improvements to Siri across the board — reducing latency, improving accuracy, increasing utility — are essential to the success of Apple Watch. And — given the previous note on first impressions — it's pretty important that Siri integration on Apple Watch work well right from the start.

It's always been interesting to me that Siri — natural language interface — has existed beside multitouch on iOS. It's been there as an option for when touch wasn't ideal due to circumstance, or optimal due to task. The Apple Watch will likely magnify that — there'll be more occasions when touch isn't ideal or optimal. For some of that, you'll be able to Handoff to iPhone. For a lot, you'll be able to just talk. HomeKit will be similar as well, with Siri moving from secondary to equal or even primary interface. HomeKit on the watch even more so.

Like Continuity and Extensibility and Touch ID, the investment in Siri will likely pay off beyond it's initial implementation.

I use Siri all the time. It's gotten so that I'm often too lazy to tap or type. I use it for reminders, for alarms, for searches, for reservations, and for a lot more. If I have an idea and I'm driving and don't want to forget it, I'll just say "Hey, Siri", dictate a note, and touch it up later as needed. And in my experience, John Gruber is spot on. Daring Fireball:

I've noticed over the past year that Siri is getting faster — both at parsing spoken input and returning results. I use iOS's voice-to-text dictation feature on a near-daily basis, and it's especially noticeable there. I've been using a Moto X running Android 5.0 the past few weeks, so today I did a side-by-side comparison between Siri and Android's Google Now, asking both the simple question, "What temperature is it outside?" Both phones were on the same Wi-Fi network. Siri was consistently as fast or faster. I made a video that shows them in pretty much a dead heat.

iOS 8's streaming speech-to-text is especially notable. You see it rendering while you're speaking and what's more — you see it changing the words it's already rendered as it gets additional context. Apple's been investing a lot in voice, and it's paying off. Sure, it would be great if they localized processes that didn't require internet access, like setting an alarm, but compared to 2011, it's already night and day. It's gone from punchline to productive feature.

Lastly, a rather obvious but important observation: Improvements to Siri across the board — reducing latency, improving accuracy, increasing utility — are essential to the success of Apple Watch. And — given the previous note on first impressions — it's pretty important that Siri integration on Apple Watch work well right from the start.

It's always been interesting to me that Siri — natural language interface — has existed beside multitouch on iOS. It's been there as an option for when touch wasn't ideal due to circumstance, or optimal due to task. The Apple Watch will likely magnify that — there'll be more occasions when touch isn't ideal or optimal. For some of that, you'll be able to Handoff to iPhone. For a lot, you'll be able to just talk. HomeKit will be similar as well, with Siri moving from secondary to equal or even primary interface. HomeKit on the watch even more so.

Like Continuity and Extensibility and Touch ID, the investment in Siri will likely pay off beyond it's initial implementation.

It looks like Siri could be picking up a few new languages soon. According to a recent report, several text strings in iOS 8.1.2 show that everyone's favorite digital assistant could be picking up support for Czech, Slovak, and Polish in the near future.

A series of text strings discovered within iOS 8.1.2, and included on software versions dating back to at least iOS 8.1, suggest that Siri could soon receive expanded language support on iPhone and iPad. The localized strings provide translated references to how Siri would display things like settings toggles, restaurants and reservations, and sports information in Czech, Slovak, and Polish.

There's no hint at when we can expect Siri to start saying Dobrý den!, but these strings at least indicate that Apple is hard at work on bringing the three languages to iOS soon enough.

It looks like Siri could be picking up a few new languages soon. According to a recent report, several text strings in iOS 8.1.2 show that everyone's favorite digital assistant could be picking up support for Czech, Slovak, and Polish in the near future.

A series of text strings discovered within iOS 8.1.2, and included on software versions dating back to at least iOS 8.1, suggest that Siri could soon receive expanded language support on iPhone and iPad. The localized strings provide translated references to how Siri would display things like settings toggles, restaurants and reservations, and sports information in Czech, Slovak, and Polish.

There's no hint at when we can expect Siri to start saying Dobrý den!, but these strings at least indicate that Apple is hard at work on bringing the three languages to iOS soon enough.

Apple has been hard at work to provide behind-the-scenes enhancements to its Maps app and the Siri personal assistant service. With the enhancements, Maps now gains Flyover imagery and data for nine new locations while Siri expands her knowledge of movie show times and listings to 6 new countries.

The nine new Flyover locations include:

Avignon, France

Biarritz, France

Perpignan, France

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

Dunedin, New Zealand

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Meteor Crater, Arizona

Royal Gorge, Arkansas

Visby, Sweden

And Siri could now tell you movie show times in the following new countries:

Apple has been hard at work to provide behind-the-scenes enhancements to its Maps app and the Siri personal assistant service. With the enhancements, Maps now gains Flyover imagery and data for nine new locations while Siri expands her knowledge of movie show times and listings to 6 new countries.

The nine new Flyover locations include:

Avignon, France

Biarritz, France

Perpignan, France

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

Dunedin, New Zealand

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Meteor Crater, Arizona

Royal Gorge, Arkansas

Visby, Sweden

And Siri could now tell you movie show times in the following new countries:

Apple has responded to a study published by the University of Utah, which found that Apple CarPlay could be up to four times more distracting than driving alone. In the response, Apple stated researchers at the university failed to test both Siri Eyes Free and CarPlay.

Utah University researchers previously found that Siri can mistake commands and carry out incorrect tasks, raising the workload of the driver considerably. According to data included in the most-recent Wall Street Journal report, this is unfortunately no different from other systems that car manufacturers are implementing into their vehicles.

However, Apple stands by its in-car solutions, arguing that the report failed to take into account the company's work on car-friendly versions of Siri.

CarPlay and Siri Eyes Free intuitively use your vehicle's native controls so you don't need to pick-up and look at your phone while driving. These experiences are tailored so you only have access to iPhone apps that are optimized for the car and make sense for an in-vehicle experience.

While Apple defends its voice command software for use in vehicles, it joins manufacturers and other software providers in agreement that voice systems have some way to go to really help solve an increasing problem – drivers becoming distracted by advanced technology.

Apple has responded to a study published by the University of Utah, which found that Apple CarPlay could be up to four times more distracting than driving alone. In the response, Apple stated researchers at the university failed to test both Siri Eyes Free and CarPlay.

Utah University researchers previously found that Siri can mistake commands and carry out incorrect tasks, raising the workload of the driver considerably. According to data included in the most-recent Wall Street Journal report, this is unfortunately no different from other systems that car manufacturers are implementing into their vehicles.

However, Apple stands by its in-car solutions, arguing that the report failed to take into account the company's work on car-friendly versions of Siri.

CarPlay and Siri Eyes Free intuitively use your vehicle's native controls so you don't need to pick-up and look at your phone while driving. These experiences are tailored so you only have access to iPhone apps that are optimized for the car and make sense for an in-vehicle experience.

While Apple defends its voice command software for use in vehicles, it joins manufacturers and other software providers in agreement that voice systems have some way to go to really help solve an increasing problem – drivers becoming distracted by advanced technology.

For Gus, Siri is more than just a virtual assistant, more than just a sequential inference engine that listens to him and answers his questions. Gus is autistic, and Siri has become something akin to his friend. The New York Times:

It all began simply enough. I'd just read one of those ubiquitous Internet lists called "21 Things You Didn't Know Your iPhone Could Do." One of them was this: I could ask Siri, "What planes are above me right now?" and Siri would bark back, "Checking my sources." Almost instantly there was a list of actual flights — numbers, altitudes, angles — above my head.

I happened to be doing this when Gus was nearby. "Why would anyone need to know what planes are flying above your head?" I muttered. Gus replied without looking up: "So you know who you're waving at, Mommy."

Gus had never noticed Siri before, but when he discovered there was someone who would not just find information on his various obsessions (trains, planes, buses, escalators and, of course, anything related to weather) but actually semi-discuss these subjects tirelessly, he was hooked. And I was grateful. Now, when my head was about to explode if I had to have another conversation about the chance of tornadoes in Kansas City, Mo., I could reply brightly: "Hey! Why don't you ask Siri?"

When Apple debuted Siri, the introduction video ended with a blind woman using it to send and receive text messages. Right from the start Apple positioned Siri as not just a cool new feature but an assistive, inclusive technology that could make the iPhone more accessible to even more people.

Anecdotally, when my very young godkids got their iPod touches with Siri, they spoke to it like it was a friend as well. Before they could read or write, they could use Siri to send and receive messages, to title movies, to get answers to their questions, and more.

With iOS 8, Siri now streams voice-to-text so you no longer have to wait until you're finished to see what, if anything, resolves. It makes it an even more conversational experience. Siri will also serve as the primary interface for HomeKit when Apple's home automation technology starts rolling out, and for the Apple Watch when it debuts next year.

You can read the rest of Gus' remarkable story via the link below, and learn more about Siri via our ultimate guide.

For Gus, Siri is more than just a virtual assistant, more than just a sequential inference engine that listens to him and answers his questions. Gus is autistic, and Siri has become something akin to his friend. The New York Times:

It all began simply enough. I'd just read one of those ubiquitous Internet lists called "21 Things You Didn't Know Your iPhone Could Do." One of them was this: I could ask Siri, "What planes are above me right now?" and Siri would bark back, "Checking my sources." Almost instantly there was a list of actual flights — numbers, altitudes, angles — above my head.

I happened to be doing this when Gus was nearby. "Why would anyone need to know what planes are flying above your head?" I muttered. Gus replied without looking up: "So you know who you're waving at, Mommy."

Gus had never noticed Siri before, but when he discovered there was someone who would not just find information on his various obsessions (trains, planes, buses, escalators and, of course, anything related to weather) but actually semi-discuss these subjects tirelessly, he was hooked. And I was grateful. Now, when my head was about to explode if I had to have another conversation about the chance of tornadoes in Kansas City, Mo., I could reply brightly: "Hey! Why don't you ask Siri?"

When Apple debuted Siri, the introduction video ended with a blind woman using it to send and receive text messages. Right from the start Apple positioned Siri as not just a cool new feature but an assistive, inclusive technology that could make the iPhone more accessible to even more people.

Anecdotally, when my very young godkids got their iPod touches with Siri, they spoke to it like it was a friend as well. Before they could read or write, they could use Siri to send and receive messages, to title movies, to get answers to their questions, and more.

With iOS 8, Siri now streams voice-to-text so you no longer have to wait until you're finished to see what, if anything, resolves. It makes it an even more conversational experience. Siri will also serve as the primary interface for HomeKit when Apple's home automation technology starts rolling out, and for the Apple Watch when it debuts next year.

You can read the rest of Gus' remarkable story via the link below, and learn more about Siri via our ultimate guide.

Searching on a smartphone just by using your voice is a feature that is still in its infancy, and it's not exactly a shock to learn that teens are using and embracing it more than their elders. This is one of the many findings about voice search in a new survey commissioned by Google.

The study, based on results obtained by 1,400 US residents, showed that 55 percent of teens use some kind of hands-free search on their smartphones every day, such as Google's own solution, along with Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana. While voice search use is growing among older smartphone owners, 45 percent of adults in the survey claimed to fee "like a geek" when they talked to their smartphone.

59 percent on US teens and 36 percent of adults use voice search while watching TV and 22 percent of teens admit to using it while in the bathroom. Here's a few more interesting stats:

40% use voice search to ask for directions.

39% use the feature to dictate a text message.

32% do so to make a phone call.

23% of adult Americans use voice search "when I'm cooking."

51% of teens (and 32% of adults) use voice search "just for fun."

27% use voice search to check the weather.

Are you more comfortable using voice search on your smartphone or do you also feel "like a geek" when using it?

Searching on a smartphone just by using your voice is a feature that is still in its infancy, and it's not exactly a shock to learn that teens are using and embracing it more than their elders. This is one of the many findings about voice search in a new survey commissioned by Google.

The study, based on results obtained by 1,400 US residents, showed that 55 percent of teens use some kind of hands-free search on their smartphones every day, such as Google's own solution, along with Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana. While voice search use is growing among older smartphone owners, 45 percent of adults in the survey claimed to fee "like a geek" when they talked to their smartphone.

59 percent on US teens and 36 percent of adults use voice search while watching TV and 22 percent of teens admit to using it while in the bathroom. Here's a few more interesting stats:

40% use voice search to ask for directions.

39% use the feature to dictate a text message.

32% do so to make a phone call.

23% of adult Americans use voice search "when I'm cooking."

51% of teens (and 32% of adults) use voice search "just for fun."

27% use voice search to check the weather.

Are you more comfortable using voice search on your smartphone or do you also feel "like a geek" when using it?